Monday, December 27, 2010

Life Is A Mission Trip

Michael and his Mom (Aunt Missy) last Easter

Last night from 11pm to 2:30am my brother and I had the best conversation I have ever had with my cousin. Honestly I don’t really remember how it got started, but I do know that for three and a half hours straight I was able to, as clearly as I know how, lay the gospel out to my 15 year old Roman Catholic cousin Michael Sal. Last new year he was at my house and we had about a 30 minute discussion about the Gospel. He told me last night that ever since then he has been having doubts about what he has been taught as right his whole life in the Catholic church. That made my heart so glad! I can not think of anything I would love more than to see my cousin come to a true understanding of Jesus Christ and the reality of what it means to be saved. For three and a half hours last night I asked him questions about Catholic beliefs and why he believed them and he asked me questions about what I believe and why I believe them. I think he is beginning to understand in his head what it means to be a Christian but it is such a huge leap for him to accept in and with that the consequences that will come from turning his back on his family. I see what I think is the Spirit drawing him and I pray that it continues.

He asked me to sit down with him and his dad (My uncle Mark) sometime over new years and have the same basic conversation with them. I am so excited to get to do that but at the same time it scares me. I am going to be trying to defend my faith and God against someone who has been a devout Catholic his entire life and who’s sister (my mom) turned away from Catholicism when she was 19. I know that unless God loosens his heart strings that he is going be very closed to anything that I have to say about religion.

For my cousin to turn his back on his faith and his parents faith; even though he is still staying within the Christian religion would be huge. I know God can do anything though. And my prayer is that He would save not just my cousin, but his parents and sister as well. I love that family more than any other family within my extended family that I can think of. To see all four of them have their eyes opened to the error of what the Catholic church teaches, and know you personally would be so amazing and exciting for me!

So please if you are reading this, pray for me as I share the most wonderful thing we can posses on this earth with them. Please pray that the Lord brings verses to mind as I need them and that He gives me the words to say to my family.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Christmas Time, And A Fail...

This week we are in Louisiana for Christmas. My family minus my dad and older brother drove down today. It took us about 7 hours. I drove for the first 4 and then we stopped for lunch. Well after lunch my mom and I switched off because we were going to listen to the sermon The God Of Worship by John Piper and I wanted to blog my thoughts about it while listening to the sermon. Well I ended up writing a page and a half long post in a word document (we are on the road I obviously don't have internet) about this sermon, it is just that good, and that was my fifth time to listen to it! Well I went to save and and accidentally hit no when it asked me if I wanted to save the changes...fail. And hour and a half of typing in a bumpy car...gone in half a second. I. Was. Ticked. Any good that that sermon had done me was erased with my thoughts... It was a terrible feeling! Oh well. We will listen to it again on the way home and I'll blog about it then. Be looking for it, it is excelent!!!!

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Thank You God

Dear God,

Thank you.

Thank you for your love.

Thank you for your sustaining grace.

Thank you for your mercy upon me, a sinner.

Thank you for what is the start to an answer to prayer.

May you continue to answer that prayer and sustain me in YOU ALONE.

Amen